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Robb Gravett
Robb Gravett (born May 10, 1956, in London) is a British racing driver who competed in the BTCC 1980's in the BTCC Gravett joined the BTCC in 1987 for a one-off race at Silverstone, where he ended up retiring. He came back in 1988 in an Andy Rouse prepared car, and had a creditable season finishing second 2nd twice in his Class A Ford Sierra RS Cosworth. Next came 1989, where he created his own team, Trakstar. His teammate was fellow Brit Mike Smith, the BBC Radio 1 DJ. The year was successful, earning several wins and 4th in the Championship. 1990: Underdog becomes Champion! For 1990, Gravett was still teammates with Smith, but he entered with financial trouble after his major sponsors withdrew their support. Sadly, Smith hardly got to run this season, making it mainly a one-car team. Despite all of these problems, he dominated the season and won many of the rounds, and was declared champion with a round to go after Frank Sytner, his closest challenger for the title, went out of the race. 1991: Super Touring Format begins This year was another evolution for the BTCC after switching to a single class, Super Tourer format, so, to comply with the new regulations, he competed in a Ford Sierra Sapphire, this time as a single car team. Nothing much came of the year, his best finish was 2nd in the second race at Brands Hatch. 1992-3: Peugeot For 1992, Robb headed to the works Peugeot squad, but had a very dismal 1992 season, with just a single point, scored at Pembrey after Patrick Watts made an error on the final lap. The TOCA Shootout, however, turned out excellent for Robb. 10 drivers competed in this competition, and Robb finished 2nd to 1989 champion John Cleland. 1993 was better, finishing 2nd at the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, with several other point-scoring finishes. However, he and the team boss got into it with each other, which resulted in him being fired and left without a drive for 1994. 1994-7: Life as a Privateer He competed for Andy Rouse's team at the final round in 1994, but nothing much developed there. 1995 saw him join the privateer ranks of the BTCC, which meant he driving on his own shoestring budget. Robb finished an incredible 3rd place at Snetterton, which was a very high position for a privateer. Despite his troubles, he trudged on to 1996, but nothing exciting happened here, as he was hoping to repeat this performance, but dejectedly didn't even score a point. He joined Graham Hathaway's team for 1997, and managed to finish 10th 3 times for 3 points. This may not sound impressive, but it was enough for him to win the Total Cup for Privateers. 1998: Robb Announces Retirement at end of season Despite winning the Total Cup, he did not get a manufacturer drive, so he announced his retirement at the end of the season. He finished 2nd in the Total Cup to Norwegian Tommy Rustad after after scoring a few points and even leading the overall race at Silverstone. Category:BTCC Drivers Category:BTCC Masters Category:Independent Drivers Category:BTCC Champions Category:Vauxhall Drivers Category:Race Winners Category:Ford Drivers Category:1990's Drivers Category:1980's Drivers Category:Peugeot Drivers Category:Honda Drivers Category:SEAT Drivers